Chapter 11
Ronar breathed a sigh of relief as Talin left the control room in favor of watching the coming events unfold from his chair in *his* control room.
He was worried about Leske. His shift was scheduled to end in fifteen minutes and he hadn't yet heard from her. He didn't want to believe that she could be dead, but the reality was becoming more and more pronounced by the second.
The plan was for her to return within the window of his shift, disguised as a member of Carcel's Team 7, claiming that the rest of her team was still on the planet they had been exploring… that she was ordered to return early or something. Maybe Daniel would be with her, too.
Ronar's breath caught in his throat as the inner ring of the Stargate began spinning. He looked over at Davis, unable to remember the name of the person playing him, but tilted his head toward the gate in question. Davis looked at the monitor in front of him and nodded to Ronar.
"It's a real activation, sir," he said. Ronar turned back to his own station and hit a few keys, causing the gate to flicker almost imperceptibly. The holographic façade they usually had projected over the gate disappeared.
"Close the iris," Ronar ordered. Davis complied and the dark gray barrier they had designed for Carcel's Stargate slid down over the opening in the middle of the ring, just as the seventh chevron lit. The wormhole engaged and Ronar held his breath.
"Are we getting a code?" he asked.
Davis paused for a minute, eyes locked on his screen. "Yes, sir. It's Team 7's access sequence, sir. Opening the iris."
And with that, the blue shimmer of the event horizon became visible, and three people, familiar and dressed in the uniforms of a Carcelan Stargate Exploration Team, appeared and plodded tiredly down the ramp. The leader of the group looked up at the control booth, staring straight at Ronar. He couldn't help but smile back at Leske, relieved to see her alive, even in the form of a brown eyed, blonde haired woman who bore absolutely no resemblance to his friend.
Ronar leaned down toward the microphone. "Welcome back Team 7. Commander Norenel, where are the other two members of your team?"
"I told Lesane and Graton they could stay for another day to finish running some tests. I didn't believe it was necessary for us to remain there as well," 'Norenel' replied, as the other two people with her took off their helmets.
"Very well. Get cleaned up and report for debriefing in two hours."
Ronar nodded to Davis, who replaced the holographic gate and left the control room to meet Leske and her team.
* * * *
Daniel followed as Leske led him and Janet through a door in the gateroom that he had never noticed before. It was behind the gate and camouflaged to look just like the wall, the seams barely visible. The interior of this new room looked remarkably like the one in which he had been held just prior to meeting Talin, and a shiver ran down his spine with the memory. Leske must have picked up on his unease, because she turned to him as the door closed to offer some explanation.
"Ever since you four came through our gate, our government has been pushing the creation of our own Stargate Program, following the example of Earth. When we learned of the existence of the Goa'uld and the Replicators, to name a few, the people in power for our planet became concerned. So they brought the military in and we allowed them access to our facility so they could use the Gate. They play by our rules, so long as we let them go off-world. Ronar… uh, Sgt. Siler, in the control room… he's the commander of military forces, here. He's been working with me and a few others who have been trying to get you home, Daniel," Leske said, her confidence immediately surfacing as she had set foot on her home planet.
"So, this is some kind of ready room for your military… hidden out of the way, so as not to tip SG1 off," Janet commented as she looked around. Leske nodded as she pulled her shirt down a bit and adjusted her IHFG, the Carcelan uniform suddenly melting into a standard SGC uniform. Daniel and Janet did the same, just as Leske had shown them before leaving Earth, and their clothes changed, just as another door on the other side of the room opened, startling all three.
Leske smiled. "Daniel, Janet, I want you to meet Base Commander Ronar. He's been keeping an eye on your friends while I was away."
Ronar's eyes fell to the ground. "I'm afraid I haven't done a great job of that, Les."
Leske's smile faded and Daniel looked from her to Ronar, feeling a bit panicky. "What do you mean?" he asked, stepping toward the man he knew to be Sergeant Siler. Ronar took a deep breath before looking Daniel in the eye.
"They started to suspect something. They started looking more closely at your death and Talin was afraid they might find something. He advanced the timetable and entered the Environment himself, as General Hammond. Brought Jacob Carter in to take Jack and Teal'c out on a mission… Sam had to stay behind for some reason. Jack and Teal'c were captured, and we heard Jacob get shot… God, she thinks… Daniel! Daniel, wait!"
Daniel didn't stand still long enough to hear the rest of Ronar's explanation, but bolted out the door he had entered, only to find himself in one of the familiar corridors of the SGC. He had to find her, to make sure she was okay, to let her know that he was okay. She'd just lost him… what would happen to her if she lost Jack, Teal'c, *and* her *Dad*, too?
He flew through the halls, wracking his brain trying to figure out where she would be. The dull ache in his head didn't help much, but he did his best to ignore it, concentrating on finding Sam. She wouldn't go to her lab… there might be people there. She'd want to be alone.
Daniel skidded and turned fast on his heel as he ducked into the stairwell just before passing it by. He took the stairs three at a time, reaching the level with the officers' quarters in record time. He ran full tilt into the corridor toward Sam's room and slammed his shoulder into her door as he turned the handle.
Then he stopped cold in his tracks, breathing hard as a nightmare unfolded before him. Sam closed her eyes and lifted her Beretta to her head, a faint smile touching her lips…
"Sam…" he choked, unable to find his voice and unwilling to startle her into pulling the trigger. "Sam, please…" he whispered as he walked quickly toward her. As her finger began to tighten, he pulled the gun out of her hand and knelt down in front of her. She opened her eyes to find a stranger staring up at her, but didn't move.
"Sam? Sam, look at me. Look at me!" said Daniel, shaking her shoulders, desperate for some sign that she knew he was there.
She blinked and looked at him, a puzzled look coming to her face. "Who are you?" she asked softly, her eyes drawn to her gun in his hand. Daniel sat back on his heels, confused. Why wouldn't she know him? Granted, she thought he was dead, but still…
"Sam, it's me! Daniel! Come on, Sam… you *know* me!" She looked at him for a moment then began to laugh quietly to herself, mumbling something about this being a great joke.
Then it dawned on him, that he was still wearing his IHFG. He'd forgotten all about it. "Shit, Sam… God, I know I don't look like me, but I *am* me, Sam. I'm Daniel. I'm not dead, okay? It was all a trick, Sam. I'm not dead!"
Sam was still laughing, and it scared him. He could only imagine what was going through her head. She was *suicidal*, for crying out loud! Sam would *never* kill herself. She was too strong to even consider it. Daniel's only explanation for her behavior was that Talin must be messing with her head, or something… amplifying her negative feelings. He had to find a way to snap her out of it.
"Wait! Sam, I can prove it's me! Okay? Just pay attention for a sec," he said as he suddenly remembered the card he'd put in his pocket before leaving Earth. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he must have known that he might have to prove his identity to his friends. Hell, he still wasn't quite sure what was real and what wasn't. He pulled the small card out of his pocket with one hand, and carefully grabbed one of Sam's hands with the other. He placed the little card in her hand and sat cross-legged on the floor.
"Look at it, Sam," he ordered, gently. She complied and examined the piece of paper in her hands. Her eyes widened and Daniel smiled at her recognition. "What is it?" he asked her, patiently. She took a deep breath and he could tell that she was fighting back tears.
"Cassie took a photography class a couple years ago," she said, slowly and softly. "It was only her third Christmas, and she wanted to give us something special. She'd taken a picture of us all using this great old camera her teacher had let her borrow… me, the Colonel, Teal'c, Janet, Daniel, and the dog. She took it to school and developed it herself, by hand. She didn't think it would turn out, but it did, and she gave it to us. We hung it in the Colonel's office."
"What about the card, Sam? What happened to it?"
"Daniel… he kept it. The Colonel was going to throw it out, but Daniel kept it and pinned it up in his office because of what it said. 'For my family.' He thought it sounded nice. Two months ago, I took it down to look at it, and I left it on his workbench. He accidentally spilled coffee on it… ruined it. He was so upset…"
Daniel smiled at the memory as she trailed off. She was starting to get it. "Look at it now, Sam. Good as new. How could that be possible?"
Her face darkened and she dropped the card. "It's a trick. Siler said…"
"No, Sam. *This* is the trick." Swallowing hard, Daniel reluctantly pulled at the collar of his shirt and revealed his IHFG. He hesitated, wishing it wouldn't be necessary, but his heart beat out his throbbing head and he deactivated the device.
Sam gasped and pulled away as his disguise melted, revealing his own face. He leaned toward her slightly as he rose to his knees, taking her hand. "Do you believe me now?"
She scrunched her face and squeaked an affirmative as she nodded her head violently. He sighed in relief and took her in his arms as she burst into tears, clutching at his shirt. "God, Daniel, we thought…"
"Shhh… I know, I know. I'm so sorry, Sam. I'm so sorry."
She choked a little laugh and he looked down at her. "What?"
"The Colonel's right. You just can't die."
Daniel laughed with her as she pulled out of his arms. "Yeah, that's me. The Energizer Spacemonkey."
She giggled and looked at him earnestly, the tears having given way to sparse sniffles. "It's really you."
"Yeah, it's really me." He watched as Sam turned her head to look at the room, watched her stiffen as she caught sight of the discarded handgun on the floor. Her eyes grew wide and both of their smiles faded.
"I almost…" she breathed.
"It wasn't you, Sam. You weren't yourself."
"What do you mean?"
"Dammit, Daniel!"
Daniel was about to explain about the neurofilters, when the pair was startled by shadows lurking in the doorway. They both looked up to see three figures walk into the room, led by a tall blonde woman with her hands on her hips and a lethal look on her face.
"Goddamit…how stupid can you be? This was my game, my rules. We," Leske pointed emphatically to her and Ronar, "are risking everything, and you go and pull a stupid stunt like that." Leske stepped forward visibly quaking with anger. She turned towards the camera in the corner of the room. "He knows now…I'm cutting my losses and leaving. He won't know who I am, I can just disappear and possibly get on with my life. Ronar is military, Talin can't touch him. You four…will probably be joining your Colonel and Teal'c, and believe me, your reunion will be short lived. You can be sure that Talin removed the safety protocols from their mission."
Daniel jumped up and grabbed Leske by her arm. "I'm sorry. But remember… our choices were taken away from us, we had no say in this matter. We've lived our lives according to the dictates of others. Sam is important to me. She's my family. I performed a risk assessment and in my eyes, saving her was worth the risk. I never meant the outcome to harm you…I didn't think."
"That's right, you didn't think," Ronar added, echoing Leske's sentiments.
"Enough." Janet stepped forth. "The damage has obviously been done; arguing about it is just going to waste precious time that we don't have. Whether or not you come with us, that is up to you. It's your conscience you will have to live with. We need to find our friends. Now you either show us how to do it, or we will manage to screw it up on our own." Her hands were on her hips and she was tapping her foot in impatience, waiting for an answer.
Sam looked at the person making the speech trying to figure out why this stranger seemed so familiar to her. Even though the disguise was of a 6' 2" marine with a build that would rival Teal'c, the words and the body language were a dead giveaway. "Janet?" Sam asked standing. Glancing in Leske's and Ronar's direction, she turned off her device and morphed back into Janet, unable to restrain herself from running up and hugging the friend she hadn't seen in a very long time.
Sam relaxed into Janet's warm embrace, but couldn't help but wonder what had gotten into her. She'd just seen her yesterday, hadn't she? Janet was acting like they'd been apart for months.
"Janet, is everything okay? You seem…"
"You'll hear all about it soon enough, Sam. Trust me," Janet replied, smiling brightly. Sam smiled back and looked back toward Daniel.
Janet realized that Sam's attention was no longer focused on her as she heard Sam issue a softly whispered "Daniel." Turning to follow Sam's line of sight, Janet's heart began to pound in fear as she took in Daniel sitting on Sam's bed his head cradled in his hands.
"Shit." Realization hit Leske like a brick wall. "Talin, knows he is here and must be trying to access Daniel's neurofilter. It obviously hasn't been absorbed completely and…"
"Neurofilter? Could someone please tell me what the hell is going on here?" Sam asked. "Living our lives by the dictates of others?"
"Later, Sam." The diminutive doctor bent down, attempting to assess Daniel's condition. A thin sheen of sweat covered Daniel's forehead, his pupils were still reactive to light, and he was able to answer the questions that Janet put forth. Daniel placated Janet, patting her hand. "I'm fine, Janet. Honestly". His facial expression spoke otherwise, as did his trembling hands.
Sam sat by Daniel's side, trying to absorb the chain of events that were unfolding with lightening speed before her. Her eyes did a quick sweep of the room, taking in the Beretta, and she shivered involuntarily at its presence. She remembered what she had almost done, and held Daniel tighter at the thought. Understanding her unspoken words, Daniel whispered into her ear, "Great rescue, huh Sam? Guess I have to work on the saving the damsel in distress thing."
Closing her eyes and swallowing to counteract the sob she felt building in her throat, she remembered that the Colonel had said almost the same exact thing regarding the Tok'ra rescue.
"Janet…I have pain killers in my pocket." Daniel motioned and then unzipped the pocket holding the pills.
"Daniel…" Janet placed her hand atop his, stopping his retrieval of the pills. "Why?"
Daniel issued forth a low chuckle, followed by a moan. He replied, "This is military Janet, 'Don't ask, don't tell' is the motto."
"Wait," Janet begged. Getting up, she turned to Leske, not caring if this woman went down with the ship or not. But Janet would be damned if she was just going to let her get away with what was being done and what was being done to her friends.
"What the hell is going on, Leske? You told me that the bastardized version of the DaD that you constructed would work, that it would be okay… Daniel would be okay."
Janet stepped forward, reached inside Leske's shirt and deactivated her IHGF. Sam watched, mouth agape as, for the second time in less than 20 minutes, someone became not who they said they were. Grabbing the front of Leske's uniform, Janet dragged her to stand by Daniel on the bed. "I want you to look at Daniel with *your* eyes, Leske, and tell him the truth this time. I know there is something you're hiding. Go ahead."
"We've never deactivated the filters from a live individual before. We've only deactivated them off players who were finished with their scenarios. We recycled the numbers to be used again."
"Leske…players that finished their scenarios. Finished as in how?" Daniel asked.
"Umm...finished as in dead, Daniel. I'm sorry. "
"Oh, um." Daniel bent his head and his breathing pattern began to change to compensate for the pounding in his head. Through clenched teeth he ordered. " Look you guys better get outta here…"
"No Daniel…I'm not leaving you."
Sgt. Siler stood in the corner of Sam's quarters and started to clap. The clapping turned to applause and then to whistles of appreciation. "Bravo…Bravo…." Wiping away fake tears from the corner of his eyes. He reached into his shirt and morphed into Talin.
"You bastard!" Ignoring the pain in his head, Daniel flung himself off the bed, almost knocking Janet to the floor in his attempt to lay his hands on the man who had been the puppeteer for the past 12 months of Daniel's life. Talin sidestepped him, bringing forth a DaD from his pocket. "I think you need this Daniel, and Sam." Turning towards Sam, he leered, "Hope you don't mind my being so familiar."
Leske stood wide eyed, chest heaving with anxiety. "Ronar?"
"Poor girl, Ronar is military, Leske. I would have thought Colonel O'Neill would have shown you something about that. He wanted to keep his Stargate Program, I wanted information. Oh, and by the way, don't expect to be seeing young Dotrin around either. He's already been… well, ha-ha… taken care of."
Leske curled her fingers into tight fists, seething at Talin's implication. "Dotrin?" Daniel whispered to her.
"Jonas," Leske hissed hurriedly, before directing further questioning toward Talin. "You knew?"
"The whole time. Knew you were attempting to get Daniel home, knew you followed him. Didn't think you would be able to turn off the neurofilter though. Didn't think that earth's technology was advanced enough."
Janet asked, "Why the pain if we turned it off?"
"Dr. Fraiser, Janet, if I may. Pleasure to meet you. Talin, master of this SGC," He put his hand out for Janet to shake it, which she totally ignored.
"Answer my question."
"Oh, yeah. Leske's right…it really wasn't absorbed yet and I was having such fun playing with his code numbers while I still could. Promise… I'll stop. See Daniel…I'm not so bad." He threw the DaD at Daniel, who caught it. "Pain almost all gone, right?"
The pain lessened, but Daniel refused to acquiesce to this madman. Passing by him slowly, Daniel turned swiftly and had him up against the wall with his forearm against his throat.
"Who's laughing now, Talin? Tell me where my friends are. Now." Daniel pressed harder, and Talin's face took on a dusky shade as he made a feeble attempt to release Daniel's arm from his neck.
Daniel was aware of the sound of automatic weapons entering the room. He didn't need to turn around to sense they were all pointed at his back.
"Camera's, Daniel. Remember the cameras," Leske said.
Daniel released Talin, and the man adjusted his clothing and leaned forth to pat Daniel's cheek. "Your loyalty… God, the ratings. In case you are interested, bits and pieces of this will be spliced together to make a heart wrenching scene between Daniel and Sam."
"What happens to us now?" Daniel asked. Ignoring the soldiers with the guns, he took two menacing steps towards Talin. "What happens to us now?!"
"Daniel, the players are all in the game… with a couple of extras thrown in for good measure." He motioned towards Leske and Janet. "Now, we just have to get you all on the same playing field." Talin turned to the soldiers who still had their weapons trained on the group. "Escort Leske, Dr. Jackson, Dr. Fraiser, and Major Carter to the gateroom, please."
"Yes, sir," responded one of the men, who motioned the four people out into the corridor.
Daniel backed away from Talin, but continued to eye him as he turned to snag Sam on his way out. He didn't intend to let her out of his sight for a minute, and she had the same idea. She moved closer to him as one of the soldiers prodded her to get moving. "Daniel?" she whispered, searching for some kind of reassurance.
Daniel put his hand at her elbow and directed his attention from Talin to her, giving a small, sad little smile. "It's okay, Sam. Don't worry about a thing," he whispered back, as the group was herded out into the corridor.
Upon reaching the gateroom, they were directed to a pile of packs and a couple of SF's holding P-90's and zats. They weren't pointing them at anyone… just holding them. Daniel was confused. He turned to Leske who was standing behind him. "I don't get it," he said. She just put out her hands and shook her head, indicating her own confusion.
"Allow me to fill you in."
Four surprised heads popped up in unison to look through the control room window to see a very smug-looking General Hammond staring down at them. "I am a fair man, and always one to be entertained… so I have decided that rather than simply shooting you, I would allow you to stay on for the big finale. What could be a better ending? The gallant SG-1, a descended Daniel, our sweet Dr. Fraiser, and… ha-ha… a new friend, fighting side by side in a losing battle, watching each other die as they are slowly overcome by enemy forces. There won't be a dry eye on the planet! And so, kids, you are going to pick up those packs, take those guns, and walk through that gate in an effort to rescue your fallen comrades."
"And if we don't?" shouted Daniel.
"Then I'll simply give the order to have O'Neill and Teal'c shot and… well, have you *counted* the number of weapons pointed at you right now? One of the perks of sharing this place with the military, Daniel… We're never at a loss for firepower."
"Right…" Daniel mumbled under his breath, wishing Jack was there to offer some witty retort.
The inner ring of the Stargate began to spin as they leaned down to put on their jackets and packs. They reluctantly took the weapons that were offered to them and checked to make sure everything was loaded. The wormhole sprang to life behind them.
"SG1, you have a go. Have fun!" Hammond's voice came over the PA, and Leske, Janet, Sam, and Daniel all turned and glared at him. He smirked back, and Leske began making her way up the ramp, followed closely by the three Tau'ri. Daniel was amazed at how real the wormhole really felt…